Roy Keane slammed 'arrogant' England for 'awful' second half after Republic of Ireland victory

09/08/2024 05:56 AM

Roy Keane has hit out at England’s ‘arrogance’ during their victory over the Republic of Ireland, describing some of their play as ‘awful’.

England may have secured a 2-0 victory in their opening UEFA Nations League game – but the former Man United and Republic of Ireland midfielder was evidently not impressed.

The Three Lions faced their first test under the interim management of Lee Carsley, who steps into the shoes of Gareth Southgate.

Their win at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin is the first of two games they will face during this international break.

But while many praised England‘s performance in the wake of what was undoubtedly an inconsistent Euro 2024 campaign, Keane believed there was still serious failings that reared their head during the match.

Never one to hide exactly what he thinks, the 53-year-old delivered a scathing assessment of the side.

“The frustrating thing is for today is that Ireland were there for the taking,” he said on ITV after the game.

“England dominated in the first half, we praised them, their decision-making, their quality in their movement.

“That was the opposite in the second half, I thought they were awful, they were playing for themselves, taking too many touches, try playing Roy of the Rovers passes.

“Keep doing the basics, suck Ireland out, but Ireland played with a lot of pride in the second half.

“But as good as England were in the first half I thought they were just as bad in the second half, players playing for themselves, substitutions strolling off, a bit of arrogance.

“This team is there for the taking, especially because of the attacking players.

“If you are on that pitch you are thinking ‘I’ve got a chance to score a goal’.”

The first half saw England 2-0 up inside just 26 minutes thanks to goals from the once-Irish players, Jack Grealish and Declan Rice.

And certainly, the numbers do indicate a drop off in the side’s performance after the break.

The possession stats in the first 45 minutes saw the Three Lions have 81.8% of the ball, with a considerable 30.5% of play taking place in the final third.

However, by the end of the match England’s possession dominance had dropped to 76.4 per cent.

Likewise in the first half, they recorded nine shots, five of which were on target all whilst restricting their Irish opposition to just four shots with only one on target.

In the second half, Carsley’s side managed only seven shots with four on target.

And talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham singled out Anthony Gordon as one player who had gone from being ‘terrific in the first half but terrible in the second half.’

All in all though, England will feel buoyed by their victory as they prepare for their next fixture.

A return to Wembley Stadium on Tuesday 10 September sees them host Finland from 7:45pm, live on talkSPORT.